The International Conference on Food Loss and Waste opens in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, on Sept 10. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China attaches great importance to international cooperation on reducing food loss and waste, said Tang Renjian, minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, at the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste in Jinan, Shandong province, on Sept 10.

The country has taken a series of target measures aimed at the issue, such as issuing related laws, improving agricultural facilities, promoting advanced agricultural technologies and helping raise citizens' awareness, said Tang in his speech.

He also put forward suggestions on improving global cooperation related to the issue, such as building an international exchange platform for research and development on food loss in Weifang.

The conference is expected to provide an important exchange platform for countries to share their experiences in food loss and waste, and discuss global concerns such as food security, said Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong province.

The event will also create more opportunities for Shandong to deepen international cooperation and a new highland of opening-up for agriculture, added Liu.

Ambassadors to China from 16 countries, agricultural ministers from 24 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, and representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations also shared their experiences in curbing food loss and waste, and discussed global concerns such as food security via online and offline channels.

Sun Licheng, Party secretary of Jinan, declared Jinan Initiative of the International Food Loss Conference, which stresses that reducing food loss and waste has become a global consensus and calls for countries to build on common targets to deal with the issue.

The Shandong Plan of the International Food Loss Conference was also released during the conference, suggesting building a long-term mechanism for reducing food loss and waste by 2025.